Probably it was either Rogue or Empire -- as soon as I found PC-compatible version of the games. Wizardry 1 also was among the first, but probably after the other 2.

I don't remember for sure. But I'm pretty sure it was Rogue. I know that in the early days, I played that a whole lot (used to play on a DEC PDP or VAX computer). We also had a copy of Wizardry (the first one) floating around at work, but that may have been later on. My first programming job out of college was working on VAX and PDP computers, but when the company bought their first PC (running IBM DOS 1.1 or so) I was handed a PC manual and told to 'Learn it'.

I loved Warlords -- it was a truly underrated game. Also, of course, another port from VAX, "Empire: Game of the Century Edition" is one that ought to be remembered and revived in a modernized edition.

Alpha Centauri

Time hasn't done it any favors, but I still find myself dragging it out every year or so. And almost every time, I find myself getting addicted to it all over again. I've actually played in a couple of AC tournaments years ago, and did fairly well in them (first place in a small tournament, Second place out of about 49 people in a larger one).

@putaspongeon: I so much wanted to like Tabletop Simulator. I love tabletop gaming, particularly designer boardgames. That said, I can't help feeling like an awkward klutz with the TS controls. I have zero hand-eye coordination (one of the reasons maybe why I gravitate more towards board games). Fortunately, I've been able to form my own local group to play on occasion. I get the appeal of TTS -- I just wish it didn't make me feel so clumsy.

That's what makes a place like Steam great for meeting like-minded people. You are correct -- the PC 'Community' is actually a community of communities, split in many different ways. But that's exactly how Steam is broken up as well. And that's good because it actually makes it easier to find people with similar interests. I'll give you an example.

I kind of like Roguelike games and 4X games and board games. And I'd see the same people replying to me in different forums for each game. And because the Steam community was split, and not too huge, I'd recognize the same names. And that made it really easy for me to find friends. A place like Gamespot which is so diverse -- that's fine for really generic discussions about games, but you are less likely to find people like that in forums like these.

In other words, smaller communities are actually better for making friends. I'm not saying that large diverse communities don't have their place -- they just serve different purposes.

It's not the quantity of the people you meet which is important -- it's the quality of the interactions you have with them that makes the difference. It's easy enough to find people on Steam who have similar interests -- just start participating more in the forums for those games that you love. Don't worry about your friend count, because people who take the number as being important, can't be taken seriously. Just participate, don't be so negative, stay away from the flame wars, etc. You'll gradually build up a nice enough list of people that you can play with or chat with. Not everyone will be the kind of person you'll want to hang out with in RL, but at least you'll have some fun and have some interesting conversations, and find fellow like-minded people.

@xantufrog: The original Master of Orion is a classic and for good reason -- it's a cleaner design and less complicated than MoO2, so I'd recommend that as a better beginner experience. If you like it, certainly try MoO2, or the recent remake. MoO2 is an excellent game, but nowhere near as newbie friendly. MoO2 lacks the elegance of the original.

@Gaming-Planet: I'm pissed off because the kind of misinformation in your post is fairly common and the fact that no one checks facts, and trusts in one source of information actually does kill people. That's what the point of my diatribe was. I do a weekly science talk at a school and I hear all sorts of misinformation. It bothers me that people worry about the wrong things not only because of people spouting nonsense but also because it is echoed on forums like these. It's bad enough that ignorance about vaccinations has lead to outbreaks of diseases that were thought to have been eradicated in the US, and while yeah, you aren't telling people to not get vaccinated, you are still spreading the same kinds of misinformation that anti-vaxxers use to urge parents to refuse to get their kids vaccinated. So in spite of being 'pro-vaccination, you still are adding to the problem.

Misinformation doesn't just distract people from the real problems, it also gets people killed. Read the linked post.

Don't believe me. Also: http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/ScienceResearch/ucm284520.htm

and https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/toxic-myths-about-vaccines/

Are you a doctor or a biologist or an immunologist? If not then you should not actually have a say about at what age it is necessary for a child to receive vaccinations. I'm sorry but if you don't actually know the facts, and it appears that you are a bit confused by them, then your opinion is not relevant. I found this quite easily -- I did the fact-checking for you: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/cleveland-clinic-spewed-antivaccine-misinformation/

There is SO much misinformation being spread that I'm no longer surprised when I read nonsense like that. Science Based Medicine isn't a perfect site, but it has the advantage of being run by an actual doctor who reads the research and does really good fact-checking. To give you an idea of just how bad the misinformation is, there have even been a couple of nursing schools that have embraced thoroughly debunked pseudoscience. Too many people do not know the difference between a Nutritionist or a Dietician (hint: Dieticians require actual medical credentials), or judge the safety of something, not based on whether it's been tested, but on how scary the ingredients sound (true story, a community in California actually almost tried to ban DHMO -- DHMO, btw, is water).

BTW, water is toxic. Oxygen is toxic. The fact that something is toxic doesn't mean that it is dangerous -- it means that it CAN be dangerous in high enough concentrations. Athletes recently have died from water toxicity because they were following some pseudoscience about hydration.

@angeldeb82: I've seen people attacked for saying happy holidays, never saw ANYONE attacked for saying Merry Christmas. If anything, there's been a war on inclusiveness, multiculturalism, and secularism.